Bones: The Con Man in the Meth Lab
November 22nd 2008 23:24
Here's the episode where we meet Booth's little brother Jared. And what else would he do but put a rift between partners in more ways than one?
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A state police training lab winds up showing cadets more than just why you don’t fire tear gas into a meth lab. The trailer explodes and debris that goes flying. But so does a fiery corpse.
“We’re gonna need uh, uh… a fire extinguisher. Then maybe some sort of…trauma counselor?”
~*~*~
Booth comes into Sweet’s office late, and Bones points out that Sweets believes “chronic lateness is a way of asserting control.”
Sweets: That’s right.
Booth: *scoffs, to Bones* You believe that?
Bones: No, I figured there was traffic or something kept you at work.
Exactly! Booth tells them he was putting the finishing touches on a case that’s “about to propel me into FBI legendary status.”
“Ahhh, the big RICO case!” Booth gives her a look and she adds, “That I’m not supposed to know anything about.”
Sweets asks why he doesn’t know about this case, and Booth reminds his partner, “Bones! It’s top secret!”
“But you told Dr. Brennan.”
“That’s because she’s my partner.”
Booth can’t help excitedly talking about his soon to be a pay raise, a parade, “and most definitely, my face on a coin!” Booth grins.
“Just in time for your birthday,” Sweets answers.
“Which,” Booth answers, whipping out a travel brochure. “I will be spending in Hawaii!” He hands over one pamphlet to Sweets and another to Bones. “Look at that. Shark adventures!”
As Bones and Sweets are glancing at the travel brochures, Booth’s phone rings.
Sweets: Oh I really wish that you wouldn’t—
Booth: *answers phone* Booth.
Sweets: …answer your phone…
It’s Booth’s brother, Jared calling. Sweets is surprised to find out Booth has a brother. Bones assures him that he shouldn’t feel bad because she’s never met him either.
Sweets: At least you knew he existed.
Suddenly both Booth and Bones’s phones ring and they jump up.
“Aright that’s good enough for today—” They totally ignore him as they head out the door. “Because obviously you have to go look at some—” The door slams behind them. “—Horribly disfigured human remains…”
Sweets stares at the door. So much for that.
~*~*~
Booth and Bones arrive at the crime scene. Bones IDs the body as male, 45-50 years old as Booth talks to the state trooper. He has no idea who might have put the body in the trailer, but it could have been anyone anytime in the last 3 days. Do they know where the rest of the body is?
State Trooper: Yes, one leg is over there, the other’s over there, the arm is over there, did I kill this man?
Bones: No.
“Okay,” The State Trooper says, obviously relieved. Bones tells him that the victim was shot in the chest. The State Trooper swallows hard and asks Booth, “Would you be at all upset if I had a little cry?”
Booth understands. “Yeah take your time.” As the State Trooper walks off, Booth turns back to the body, asking Bones what’s in the victim’s pocket. She pulls out a notebook. “This man was obviously some kind of technical designer or engineer.”
“A squint huh?” Booth asks, nodding to the charred notebook. “One of your own.”
~*~*~
Angela and Hodgins look at some of the scans of the victim’s inventions and are impressed. Suddenly they hear someone clear their throat behind them and Angela turns and rushes to give Clark a hug. What’s he doing back?
Hodgins: You said you didn’t want to work with us anymore.
Clark: No, I said my preferred working style tends towards the professional. See my tie? That’s an indicator.
Angela: Mmmhmm, so why’d you come back then?
Clark: Because this is the finest forensics facility in the world.
Angela’s found a form letter from the patent’s office. Clark is very glad to have work to do, but Angela holds off on giving him the letter asking, “Aren’t you the least bit curious if Hodgins and I are back together or not?” No, he’s not. He’s more interested in who filed that patent report. They’ll have to check the number because there’s no name.
Hodgins tells him that the victim most likely died three days ago and Clark is glad to get back to work. He starts to head out, but Hodgins calls after him, “Aren’t you impressed that Angela and I can still work together so well?”
Clark just holds up his tie.
~*~*~
Bones can’t find an obvious exit wound on the victim. Clark shows her and Cam a pattern on the abrasions suggesting the murder weapon was some sort of grid, and suddenly, “Camille?”
Cam turns around to find Booth and his brother, who is dressed in military uniform. “Jarhead! It’s really you!” She walks over as he explains his position in the military and answers, “He’s getting so big! Soon he’ll be wanting a later curfew and a car of his own.”
Booth introduces his brother to Bones and “that back there is a Squint,” he explains, pointing to Clark.
Booth: Bones, this is my little brother.
Jared: Bones.
Booth: Dr. Brennan.
Bones shakes Jared’s hand. “It is nice to meet you Jarhead.” She glances between him and Booth. “I can see the family resemblance. Your facial structure is even more symmetrical than Booth’s.”
Jared: Is she coming on to me?
Booth: No, that’s just the way she talks.
Cam asks Jared about his new job at the Pentagon. He’s now the new head of strategic plans and policy.
Booth: Basically he runs the place. So Cam, Jared has a favor he’d like to ask—
Jared: I can ask my own favors Seeley.
Booth: Okay, go ahead…
Bones goes back to work as Jared tells Cam that he’s got a cocktail party tonight. “I’m in need of a beautiful woman on my arm, preferably a very smart one.”
“I’m quite intelligent,” Bones offers, to which Booth quickly answers, “No.”
Bones frowns at him, and he rushes to explain, “Not that you aren’t intelligent, you are, intelligent—”
“I would be delighted,” Cam interrupts, accepting Jared’s date offer.
Angela walks in to tell them about the patent, “filed by someone named Paul Stegman, I’ve got an address there—whoa.” She stops when she sees Jared. He grins. “There’s more than one Booth?”
Jared clears his throat at his brother twice, and finally Angela introduces herself. Booth stares at his brother, then tells him he and Bones have to work on a case, so…
“Yeah no problem, I will grab a cab and get settled into my new place.” He tells them all it was very nice to meet them and tells Cam he’ll pick her up at seven.
Angela is clearly impressed, and Bones asks her if she’s thinking about giving up the whole Roxie thing already. Booth catches Clark up on what’s happened since he’s been gone. “Well, since you were last here, Angela ran into her ex-girlfriend, who is now her ex-ex-girlfriend.” Clark hesitates, then finally answers, “Well the only ex I care about are X-rays…”
“Right.”
“I apologize for the pun.” Clark hurries off.
“Okay come on Bones,” Booth calls out to his partner. “What do you say we go solve a murder huh?”
~*~*~
Booth and Bones go talk to the victim’s son, Paul Stegman, and wife. They ID the victim as Jim, Paul’s father, from the windbreaker in the crime scene photo. Jim had left Paul and his mom when he was a kid. He was into drinking, found Paul again after seeing his son on the front of “Inventor’s Weekly” magazine. They tell them that they do expect fowl play in Jim’s death.
Booth notices Mrs. Stegman acting strangely, and when asked what’s bothering her, tells her husband that the last time his father was there he said he saw Paul’s inventing partner, Mike Cambell leaving Paul’s workshop. He thought he was stealing something from his son.
Paul tells them all that that they borrow each other’s tools all the time. They’re going to need Mike’s number.
~*~*~
Booth and Bones go to talk to Mr. Cambell. He said he wasn’t stealing anything from the workshop, he was just there to confront Paul’s dad. About what? “When I get stuck on one of my projects I like to do a little off-track betting. Making predictions on statistical models clears my head.” Makes sense to Bones.
So Mike went over and found Paul’s dad placing bets and clearly still drinking. When he confronted him about it, “The old geezer slammed me against the wall and told me to mind my own business.” So then he left? Yep. Since Jim disappeared after that, Mike didn’t find the need to make Paul’s last memories of his dad a bad one. Booth doesn’t quite believe that.
Bones walks around the shop studying Mike’s inventions, and comments that they’re much more industrial than Paul’s. Mike agrees. That’s why they’re no longer business partners. Bones suddenly notices something with a grid-like pattern that could be the murder weapon.
~*~*~
Back in the car, Booth gets a phone call from Cam.
“Booth.”
“Did you catch the murderer?” Jared asks, standing next to Cam’s desk.
Bones: No, but we subpoenaed a murder weapon.
Cam: Not a bad day’s work.
Jared: More important than catching a murderer, I’m dateless tonight.
Booth frowns at his phone. “What happened to Cam?”
She tells him that, “Oddly, I think it’s more important to catch this murderer. I’m working.”
“So who else you got for me, Seeley?” Jared asks, clearly expecting his brother to come up with someone right now.
Booth: What am I, you’re pimp?
Jared: Don’t think I’m not appreciative.
Suddenly Bones jumps in. “Clark has everything under control, so I could go.”
Booth: What?
Jared: Really?
Booth: Huh?
Jared: Why, thank you.
Booth: No!
“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Jared asks, before his brother can hang up. “This is Bones, right? Not some ugly FBI woman with a mustache?”
“I don’t have a mustache, Jared,” Bones answers, leaning over to talk into Booth’s phone.
“Seeley, would you mind?”
“Huh? What? No, I don’t mind,” Booth answers grimly. “Why would I mind? It’s alright.”
Uh-huh…Even Bones frowns at him.
Jared: Which means it’s a great time to hang up.
Booth: Mmmhmm.
Booth hangs up his phone, clearly irritated. Bones continues to stare at him as they drive back to The Jeffersonian.
~*~*~
All dressed up, Bones walks through the lab trying to get her earring on. “What did you find?”
“It’s what I didn’t find that’s interesting.” Clark turns from the monitor to look at her for the first time and mutters, “You have got to be kidding me.”
Bones is confused. “What?”
“Oh nothing. Nothing Dr. Brennan, I just didn’t know that you were so—” He clears his throat and turns back to the bones. He’s found no evidence of heavy drinking at all. Plus the victim supposedly broke his legs in a car accident 25 years ago but there are no signs of remodeling.
“We misidentified the victim,” Bones says. “He is not Paul Stegman’s father.”
Clark shakes his head. “No…”
~*~*~
At the cocktail party later that night, Bones sits on a bench watching Jared mingle with the other military higher-ups. He notices her sitting alone and grabs two champagne flutes and heads over to join her.
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry you came.”
“No not at all,” she answers, taking the champagne. “It is not often that I get to observe people this powerful in a relaxed situation.”
“Don’t be fooled,” he assures. “It’s a school of piranhas in here.”
She laughs. “You’re good at this. They listen to you when you speak.”
“You want to know the secret?” He slides over to tell her. “You have an incredibly beautiful, incredibly intelligent scientist/novelist sitting alone waiting for you to bring her a drink.” She laughs politely, and Jared adds, “It’s too corny.”
“Definitely.”
This time Jared laughs.
“I was thinking how Booth would be bored at a function like this.”
“This kind of event,” Jared says. “Would make Seeley very nervous. I don’t mean that he’s incapable, my brother is very very capable, it’s just, it’s like Seeley’s afraid of success. He stays in his comfort zone. It drove our dad nuts.” Jared takes another drink of his champagne.
“Really…” This is news to Bones.
Jared simply shrugs. “Maybe that’s what made him a good sniper. He doesn’t like to be visible above the ridgeline, so he keeps his head low. Instinct.” He looks at her. “Me on the other hand? Well, I cannot help but run that ridge.”
Bones is still trying to figure this out. “Can you give me an example?”
Jared leans forward and kisses her. “I betcha Seeley never took that risk.”
She grins. “Nope.”
They clink glasses. “To a good night?”
“Yes, so far.”
~*~*~
On the phone, Cam tells Booth she found a match for the DNA on the felony database. He’s more worried about where his partner is.
Booth: Have you seen Bones yet this morning?
Cam: No, I think she and Jared had a late night. *clicks the keyboard* Open the attachment I just sent you.
In his office, Booth pulls up the attachment on Anthony Pongetti, a man wanted for multiple fraud convictions.
“That’s our victim.”
“Right, so…Pongetti pretends to be Stegman,” Booth says, working out his theory out loud. “Why?” Cam suggests that he read the article in the magazine and was hoping to cash in on the invention. Booth sits back in his chair and answers, “You know Bones never gets in this late.”
“You were the one who said you didn’t mind them going out together,” Cam reminds him.
“Bye.” Booth hangs up and Cam rolls her eyes.
~*~*~
A Colonel from the state police shows up in Booth’s office not to talk about Booth’s big RICO case, but to ask if he wouldn’t mind just not mentioning the fact that the meth lab body was found during one of their training exercises. Booth reminds him that if the press finds out about it, “that makes the FBI look sneaky…”
“Well the FBI is sneaky,” the Colonel answers with a laugh.
Booth forces a laugh. “Right.” He stands up, smile gone. “Not today, Sir.”
The Colonel stops laughing. “Careers are made when men of good intent help each other.”
“I’ll tell you what, why don’t we just tell the truth and take our lumps when we have to.”
The Colonel is not happy.
~*~*~
Bones and Clark are looking at her computer in Bones’s office when Cam walks by. “Did you just get in?”
“I haven’t been to sleep,” Bones answers, as if that’s some sort of consolation.
Cam walks into her office. “Can I offer you a little insight into Booth’s little brother?”
Clark sighs. Does he always have to be here? Bones simply answers, “I didn’t have sex with him, Cam.”
Clark can’t believe this is happening to him as Angela walks in and asks, “Didn’t have sex with who?”
“Jared Booth,” Cam answers for Bones.
“Good!” Angela says making a ‘that’d be bad’ face as she hands Clark a file. He quickly escapes the girltalk.
“Why good?” Bones asks.
“Because,” Cam tries. “Because…”
“Because he’s Booth’s little brother,” Angela jumps in when Cam hesitates. “It’d be a creepy way to have sex with a Booth without having sex with the real Booth.”
Cam lets out a relieved breath. “Kudos Angela, I would not have had the guts to say that out loud.”
Bones still doesn’t get it. “Jared is a real Booth.”
Both women frown and Cam makes a disagreeing noise as Angela explains, “Jared is Booth-lite. Booth,” she emphasizes, “is the real Booth.” Cam nods in agreement.
“What if Booth is Booth-lite?” Bones asks, and Clark comes back, interrupting, “Angela found the real Jim Stegman.”
What? Where. He’s been in the Jeffersonian cold storage as a John Doe drowning victim. She found him from his DNA that was on file from an assault 12 years ago.
~*~*~
Booth and Bones visit Jim’s storage unit. Booth finds a bunch of gambling ticket stubs, one of which is made out to Anthony Pongetti. As they’re explaining to the local Sherriff how Pongetti was posing as Stegman, Booth gets a text from Jared: I’m in trouble. Jared
Booth quickly thanks the Sherriff and tells Bones he’s got to get her back to the lab.
~*~*~
Hodgins and Clark have tweaked one of Paul Stegman’s 66 inventions, the one marked with a star, and now the garbage sorter works! Look at that!
Bones walks in, having to speak above the sound of the sorting trash. “Clark I was wondering if you had a chance to look at the—” A plastic bottle flies across the room, hitting the wall and nearly missing her head. Clark shuts off the garbage sorter.
Bones asks if it was one of Paul’s inventions, and Hodgins doesn’t mind being caught working on it. “Yeah! And thanks to Clark, it works!”
Clark, on the other hand, is embarrassed to be found doing something not work-related. “I only indulged in this, uh, diversion after he asked for help. I wasn’t wasting time, I came in for the uh—Grating!” suddenly remembers why Bones is there. The grating wasn’t made of strong enough material to hit Paul Stegman’s face without being dent. Looks like they’re looking for something else. Something heavier.
~*~*~
Booth drives up to the site of the car accident, his lights flashing. Jared stands outside his car, perfectly fine, but his car is still wrapped around a light pole.
Booth gets out of the car and walks over to his brother. “You alright?”
“Yeah yeah, Seeley, I feel asleep at the wheel, I’m okay.”
Booth stares at him. “Yeah, fell asleep…”
“Local Trooper here says he knows you.”
“Agent Booth.”
Booth turns around to find Col. Ryan Wolchuck, the same Colonel who came to visit him in his office, now at the accident of his little brother. Great. Booth turns to face him. “Is that what we’re goin’ with here? He fell asleep at the wheel?”
The Colonel glances at Jared, then answers, “I’m sure you’ll agree it’s just better to tell the truth. Take our lumps when have to.”
“They get me for DUI,” Jared calls out to his brother, “I lose my job, Seeley. I mean I lose my whole career.”
“Shut up,” Booth tells his brother. “Shut up please.” He turns back to the Colonel. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
They walk off to the side as Jared slumps against the car as if he doesn’t see what the big idea is.
~*~*~
Booth and Bones are back with Mr. and Mrs. Stegman, who can’t believe that the man they actually met wasn’t Paul’s father. So did Pongetti kill Jim? Are they in danger?
Bones: Well, Anthony Pongetti was a—
Booth: Harmless. He was a conman, that’s all.
Booth shoots his partner a warning look, and Bones asks if Pongetti left anything behind, luggage maybe? Papers?
Mrs. Stegman remembers a duffle bag he left in the closet. Booth and Bones go over to take a look. Bones puts on some gloves and grabs the duffle, explaining that they think Pongetti wanted to profit off of Paul’s inventions. Paul isn’t surprised. “He'd be the first one to do that, huh?”
His wife frowns at him. “Don’t do that to yourself.”
“Wow look at this thing.” Booth pulls out what looks like a complicated vacuum-cleaner, and Paul explains that it’s a battery-operated electrostatic dust trap. Booth wants to get a closer look, and they find $20,000 hidden in a brown paper bag inside the invention. Paul wants to know if they can keep it, and his wife reminds him, “Paul, he wasn’t even your real father!”
Booth thinks this is the best motive for murder they’ve found yet.
~*~*~
Booth watches the TV in her office as Col. Ryan Wolchuck has the great pleasure of calling a press conference to announce “The Grand Jury has handed down 62 criminal indictments following the state police crackdown on Organized Crime. This victory is the result of a six-month RICO investigation by our department. The State Police would like to acknowledge the very fine support work of several FBI field offices.”
Booth gets up and turns off the TV. “Yeah, support.” He rips up his Hawaii trip brochures and throws them in the trash. He slumps into his chair as his phone rings.
~*~*~
Booth walks into the lab asking Cam, “What’s up? What’s so urgent?”
She looks up from her work to tell him that his people found a fingerprint on the bag of money. Yeah, he knows that already, so…what’s this really about?
“What happened?” Cam asks, and when Booth just shrugs like he has no idea what she’s talking about, Cam adds, “I watch TV. State Police getting all the glory? And for that big RICO case?”
He tells her to relax, that it came down to political stuff way above his head, but Cam isn’t buying it. “Don’t you lie to me big man, I’m your friend.” Booth turns around to look at her as she tells him, “I know where this came from, and it wasn’t from on high.”
“Cam. Let this one slip by.”
She hates seeing Booth used like this, but nods.
~*~*~
FBI Headquarters
Sweets steps into the elevator and finds Jared there. He introduces himself and notices the Capitals tickets in Jared’s hand. Jared knows that’s not his brother’s favorite team, but, “Hey, when in Rome right?”
The elevator opens and Sweets tells Jared that he still hasn’t gotten anything for Booth for his birthday. Jared tells him that his brother doesn’t like presents. “Anyway, these are more like a thank-you. Or an apology. You know what it’s like with brothers, right?”
“No,” Sweets tells him as they walk to Booth’s office. “Only child.”
“Oh well having an older brother is like having an extra dad, only a dad who protects you from your real dad.” Sweets considers this statement as Jared drops the tickets on Booth’s desk, adding, “And always thinks of you as a kid.”
“I have the same problem with Booth,” Sweets says, thinking about this.
“There’s nothing worse than somebody who always thinks they’re right. And then they’re right, right?”
“Yeah.”
Jared shakes Sweet’s hand. “It’s a pleasure Agent Sweets.” Jared leaves.
“Doctor…not Agent.”
~*~*~
Back at the lab, Clark postulates that each of the four gunshots “was both precise and deliberate, and did not occur in rapid-fire succession.”
Bones argues that there’s no way to tell that from the bones, and Clark agrees. Except that there is when looking at where the close-range injuries were placed. “Middle of the foot, middle of the knee, middle of the shoulder, dead-set on the heart. Small caliber weapon.” Torture. Someone was trying to get information from this guy.
“Pure conjecture Dr. Edison. But it has logical integrity.”
Clark can’t help but feel a little proud.
~*~*~
Back at the FBI, Booth and Bones walk towards his office, discussing what happened between Stegman and Pongetti three years ago. Booth thinks there was a third guy involved who ratted them out and went to prison for five years. Ah! Bones gets it.
“Five year sentence, three years with parole. Is the stool out?”
“Is the stool out?” Booth just looks at her. “No, you mean stoolie, and the third guy wasn’t the stoolie, Stegman and Pongetti were. Kay?” He points to the observation room. “You go in there, I’ll go in here.”
Inside the interrogation room, Booth interviews Steve Jackson, the third guy. He admits that he didn’t stay away from Stegman. Why? Stegman was making amends, apologizing, in the program. When Jackson finds out that both Stegman and Pongetti were killed, he’s glad Pongetti’s gone, but Stegman, well he was alright. He only backed Pongetti when he ratted him out.
“I had an alibi anyway,” Jackson says, putting his foot up on the table. He’s got a tracking device. Someone knows where he is 24/7.
Booth leaves and joins Bones in the observation room. She asks if he thinks Jackson did it, but Booth is pretty sure he’s not the murderer.
Bones asks him what happened with his RICO bust, and Booth tells her it was nothing. Why, was she talking to Cam?
“No,” Bones answers. “Why did you do something wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well you didn’t get the credit you deserve, what’d you do?”
“Life is not always about credit,” Booth tells his partner, but she reminds him that that’s not what he said before. “You said life was all about credit, and you were going to Hawaii, and they were going to put you on a coin…”
“Okay, you know what? Let’s just forget about it, okay Bones? Forget about it.”
Booth starts to leave, but Bones calls after him, “Jared warned me that you tend to sabotage yourself.”
Booth can’t let that one go. He turns around to give her an incredulous look. “Jared, said that?”
“Mmmhmm,” Bones answers. “He said that you’re afraid of successes.”
Uh-huh. “So basically, I’m a loser.”
“No, he never said the word ‘loser’,” Bones answers in her usual those-are-the-facts way.
“Do you think I’m a loser?” Booth asks, walking towards her and pointing to Jackson. “Like that guy in there?”
She tells him that “anthropologically, males tend to rank themselves in a hierarchy.” She reminds him that there’s no shame in not being at the top, and Booth is starting to get angry.
“You’re not answering the question, Bones,” he says, taking another step. “Answer MY question.”
Bones just stares at him and that’s all the answer Booth needs. Suddenly, his phone rings. It’s Cam letting him know that his forensic techs got an ID for the fingerprint on the money bag.
“Stegman or Pongetti?”
It’s Stegman, but not the one he’s thinking of. It’s Paul’s wife, Lilly. Bones points out that she acted like she’d never seen that money before, and Booth just answers, “Well, she was lying.”
He heads for the door, still agitated, and finally Bones says, “Booth—”
“Bones, let’s just go and do our work,” he interrupts, walking out the door before she can argue.
~*~*~
Lilly Stegman is brought into Booth’s office, and she admits that she found the money in a package that arrived the day after the man they thought was Jim disappeared. When he didn’t return, she started to think that he’d meant for them to open it. Bones doesn’t understand, but Booth does. “I mean, he’s gone, it’s sitting there, maybe he meant for you to have it,” he tells Lilly.
She’s relieved that someone understands. “Yes.”
“Plus you have a family to take care of,” Booth says. “We do whatever we can for family.”
She tells the she opened it and found cash and a note from “P” telling Jim to hold on to the money until he can get back to him, and to help himself to whatever he needs. P is obviously from Pongetti.
“I know I should have called the police,” Lilly admits. “And when you came I should have told you, but by then…”
“You needed the money,” Booth says, understanding. “And in a way, you felt like you earned it for taking an old man in. Family.”
Right. She doesn’t exactly get paid very much for teaching, and they’re trying to have another child. She was the one who hid the money in the dust trap. She insists Paul doesn’t know anything about the money “Or…the rest of it.”
The rest of it? $150,000 in a safe deposit box.
~*~*~
Booth and Bones are driving again. Booth goes over the entire scenario: “So I figure what happened, is Pongetti got his cash in some, you know, illegal way, maybe in a way that could get him killed. Stegman, he’s about to go visit his son…”
“So Pongetti sends the cash to his friend for safety,” Bones jumps in.
“Then Stegman gets killed, so to go get that cash, Pongetti decides to pretend to be Stegman.”
“People make stupid, irrational decisions,” Bones says as her phone starts to ring. She answers it, “Brennan.”
“They act from the heart sometimes Bones,” Booth says quietly. “It’s not a crime.”
“Okay I’ll be right there.” Bones hangs up the phone and tells him that, “Cam needs me.”
~*~*~
Back at the lab, Bones joins Cam as Sweets walks up with three Jeffersonian coffee mugs. Cam tells Bones that she doesn’t want her to think that this is an intervention, and Bones doesn’t know what that means.
Sweets explains that an intervention is “when a group of loved ones ban together to help one their own make a difficult decision.”
“Oh,” Cam corrects. “Then it is…an intervention.”
Bones is confused. “Are you my loved ones?”
Sweets tells her that he was “troubled by a conversation I had with Jared Booth,” and Cam tells Bones that Sweets came to her with some theories about Booth’s family’s life. “And he pretty much nailed it.”
“Nailed what?”
Sweets and Cam tell her to sit down, and after a moment she does.
“Booth and Jared,” Sweets starts, “are children of a physically abusive, alcoholic father.”
“Booth’s been digging Jared out of trouble since they were kids,” Cam tells her. “Jared always comes up smelling like a rose, and Booth takes the hit.”
“He’s denying his brother the opportunity to take responsibility and learn from his own mistakes,” Sweets adds.
Bones only responds, “You have no evidence of that.”
“I’ve known the Booth boys for 15 years,” Cam reminds her.
Sweets tells Bones that it’s natural to be protective of a younger sibling. “Of course Jared is a grown man,” he points out. “An intelligent, talented, capable, adult.”
“I like him very much,” Bones answers with a smile.
“Yeah, well, cut it out,” Cam warns.
Bones just doesn’t get it. “Booth shouldn’t be threatened by the fact that his brother is more successful.”
Trying to get through to her, Cam says, “I am absolutely certain that however it is Booth lost all the credit for that RICO bust? It’s because of Jared.”
“We’re all scientists here, right?” Bones argues then looks at Sweets. “Well, not you.” To Cam, she asks, “What is your evidence?”
“How about this?” Cam answers. “The last time I told Booth what I thought of Jared? He didn’t speak to me for six months.”
Bones is not convinced. “That is an anecdote.”
“We’re saying, maybe Booth deserves the benefit of the doubt here. Until all the evidence is in.”
“Evidence,” Bones emphasizes. “I am comfortable with evidence.”
Cam and Sweets exchange a look, and realize this is a lost cause.
“Okay, here’s some evidence,” Cam says, giving up on the Booth discussion for now. “The bullets that killed Stegman and Pongetti were both fired from the same gun.”
“Which suggests they were killed by the same person,” Bones answers. “Thank you.”
“Should I tell Booth?”
“No,” Bones says simply, getting up. “I’ll do it.”
She walks off and Sweets and Cam sigh. Well, that didn’t go as planned.
~*~*~
Bones joins Jared at the bar, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for coming Jared.”
He smirks. “When a beautiful woman asks me out for lunch…” Bones’s phone rings, and he asks, “Something wrong?”
Bones glances down at the caller ID. It’s Booth.
It rings again and she clicks it off, smiling at Jared. “I need to know the truth.”
“I’ve heard that about you.”
“Do you know anything about Booth losing credit on the RICO case?”
“No, what?” For once Jared’s teasing is gone. “I mean that’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“People are telling me that somehow all the credit went to the State Police because of you,” she tells him. “Is that possible?”
Ah. Jared’s got it now. He sighs. “Oh.”
“So it is possible…”
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing,” Bones says, finally starting to see the truth.
Jared just answers, “I think this is something between brothers. No offense.”
And the next part is just so great you have to watch it.
(YES! You go Bones! Man it took her long enough, huh? LoL)
~*~*~
Booth and Bones are back in the car.
Booth: Okay look, why didn’t you pick up? Where you in the bathroom or something?
Bones: To be honest, I was dis—
Booth: Okay never mind, just—never mind.
He tells her that agents recovered the rest of the cash from Lilly Stegman’s safe deposit box. The bills were bundled with evidence bands, meaning it’s drug money that was stolen by a fake driver transporting the evidence. Booth points out that the driver had to be Pongetti, right? He got away with $200,000.
Suddenly something hits Bones. “Wait, he was in custody there, how come no one recognized him?” At Booth’s look, she adds, “What? It’s a logical question.”
“No you know what, you are a genius, hold on a second.” He swings the car back around in the other direction.
“Why am I a genius?”
“Why? Because I let that big Sherriff know that we found $20,000 at Stegman’s house.”
“Why is that bad?”
“Because if he was in it with Pongetti, then he thinks he knows where the rest of that money is. THINKS.”
~*~*~
The Stegmans are telling the Sherriff the they turned everything over to the FBI. He tells them it was probably just a jurisdiction miscommunication. He’ll check with the FBI.
“Why don’t you check with me right now, huh?” Booth asks, appearing at the doorstep with a rifle. “Or better yet, why don’t you just come with us now?”
The Sherriff doesn’t reply, and Bones calls over from examining his car that “the grating is what hit Pongetti in the face.”
“Old school, huh?” Booth asks. “Perp is handcuffed in the back, you sped up, slammed on the breaks, slam, sped, slam sped--”
“He couldn’t protect his face,” Bones joins in.
Suddenly the Sherriff grabs Lilly Stegman, pulling out his gun. Booth aims the rifle as Bones quickly tells Mr. Stegman to take his little boy inside as she grab’s Booth’s gun out of his holster.
After Paul and his son are inside, the Sherriff tells Booth that, “This is what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna get into your vehicle and drive away.” His gun is still pointed at Lilly’s head. “And I’m gonna do the same thing, and everybody lives, and everybody’s happy.”
Bones glances at Booth. “Well that, that sounds like a good idea.”
“No, not a good idea, huh?” Booth answers his partner, still having his aim set on the Sherriff. “You drive off with the evidence? Not gonna happen.”
Suddenly Paul opens the front door again, distracting everyone. The Sherriff knocks him out, pulling Lilly in front of him as he struggles down the stairs.
“Agent Booth,” he calls out. “You are by far the worst hostage negotiator I have ever run into.” He starts to drag Lilly towards his car. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to TALK? Disorient? Distract the perpetrator?”
“Booth?”
“Not now Bones.”
“You want me to try and shoot him?” she whispers.
“No.” Booth hasn’t taken his eyes off the Sherriff yet.
“Why? I’m a good shot.”
“You are NOT a good shot.”
“Well you are,” She says as they start to close in on the Sherriff. “You know, maybe if we switched weapons you could hit him right between the eyes!”
Bones is too busy looking at Booth to see the Sherriff aim his gun in her direction. BAM! The Sherriff shoots her.
“Bones!” Booth loses his sight on the Sherriff, distracted as his partner falls to the ground.
The Sherriff takes the distraction and shoves Lilly into the car, making a break for it.
“Bones! Bones are you okay? Bones!” Booth asks, trying to keep his weapon on the Sherriff and glance back to make sure she’s okay at the same time.
Bones clutches her shoulder. “I’m okay.”
The Sherriff shoves Lilly out of the speeding car and Booth chases after him on foot. He fires, shooting out the back window. He fires again and the Sherriff’s car drives into another one. Booth approaches cautiously, and finds the Sherriff dead behind the wheel.
Paul rushes out to make sure his wife’s okay. Booth regrettably checks The Sherriff’s pulse then walks back towards his partner.
~*~*~
“I would like to propose a toast, to my partner, Seeley Booth,” Bones, arm in a sling, announces to the entire restaurant that is now decorated with streamers.
“To Booth!” “Cheers!” Everyone is there to celebrate, even Clark.
“I forget who he is sometimes,” Bones continues. “Because…because he never shines a light on himself. He shines it on other people.”
“Yeah, right after I konked ‘em on the head with it,” Booth mutters dryly.
Hodgins laughs. Cam just shakes her head.
Bones continues her toast. “Anthropology teaches us that the alpha male is the man wearing the crown, displaying the most colorful plumage and the shiniest bobbles, he stands out from the others. But I now think that anthropology may have it wrong.”
Booth frowns at his partner as she turns to look at him. “In working with Booth…I’ve come to realize that the quiet man, the invisible man…The man who is always there. For friends and family…That’s the real alpha male.”
Angela grins as Sweets and Cam exchange a look.
“And I promise,” Bones tells them all. “That my eyes will never be caught by those shiny bobbles again.” She turns to her partner. “Happy birthday, Booth.” She clinks his glass.
“Happy birthday Booth!”
Everyone toasts, and Booth thanks them all. Bones grabs her partner’s arm, tugging him aside for a second. Booth groans. “Ugh, Bones, what are we doin’?”
“Come here.”
“What?”
“Just come here a second.” She pulls him away from the others to say, “What you’re doing for your brother? Isn’t fair.”
“Come on now Bones, don’t get me mad at you after that great speech, alright? Not after I got you shot.”
“You didn’t get me shot,” she argues. “I got me shot!”
Booth sighs, sitting down at the bar. “You know what? I don’t want to talk about my brother.”
“Would you prefer Sweets do it?” Bones asks innocently, nodding to Sweets at the other end of the bar. He spots them, smiles and raises his glass.
Okay fine. “I’m listening.”
“I forgot all the psychological stuff,” she tells him. “But basically, when you rescue somebody all the time, when you keep getting them out on bail—"
“Bail them out, Bones,” Booth corrects. “Bail them out.”
“You’re thwarting their ability to help themselves.”
Booth lets out a sigh.
“You’re angry.”
“Come on Bones, you have to admit, getting a psychological lesson from you is like—”
“Getting an anthropology lesson from you?” She smiles, but sighs when he doesn’t answer.
Finally Booth tells her, “The RICO case. I traded my one shot at glory to keep my brother from being arrested.”
Bones is shocked.
“For drunk driving…”
“Booth…You know what if he does it again? What if he kills someone next time? You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Right,” Booth answers. “Says the woman who got her father off murder charges.”
She can’t argue with that one. After a moment, Booth sighs. “Face it, we do things for family.”
“You’re right,” she agrees. “You’re totally right.”
Booth glances down to the end of the bar where his brother is hitting on another girl as he takes another drink.
Booth: No I’m not.
Bones: What? Why?
Booth gets up. “There’s no risk that your father will kill again.”
Booth heads over to Jared, motioning him outside.
~*~*~
Outside, Jared asks, “You uh, bringing me out here to give me advice on your partner?” He laughs. “Because I think that ship has sailed.”
“Ha, no, that’s uh, what I gotta do here I uh…” He turns to look at his brother. “I gotta stop. Do you understand?”
“Stop?”
“Yeah. And you should stop too.”
“I gotta stop…what?”
“The drinking,” Booth tells him, seriously.
Jared just laughs, looking down at the drink in his hand. “I’ll take that under advisement.” Clearly he’s not planning on stopping anytime soon. He laughs and starts to take his drink back inside.
“I’m serious, Jared…” Jared turns around, and Booth reluctantly tells his brother, “No more steppin’ in to make things go away.”
Suddenly Jared is angry. He turns around. “I carry my own water, Seeley…” In an almost warning tone, he adds, “Now you should go back inside, and enjoy your birthday party.”
“Right…”
Jared finishes his entire drink right in front of his brother, rattling the ice cubes when he’s done. “Cheers.”
“Yeah,” Booth says sarcastically. “Happy birthday to me.”
Jared heads back inside and Booth punches the side of a bus stop waiting area. Frustrated, he sits down in defeat.
“Hey,” Bones walks out. “Are you gonna come back in for cake?”
“You know Bones, I just need some time.”
“Do you need time and space?”
He can’t help but smile, nodding to the seat beside him. “Just some time.”
Bones sits down next to him with the piece of cake she’s brought out. She sets it on her knee and they both pick up a fork.
Booth stares at the piece of cake in front of him and quietly says, “My dad drank.” He takes the bite off his fork and Bones studies him silently…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Argh! Jared is such a jerk! How could Bones think for even a second that Booth was a loser?
On the other hand, that scene when she shoves Jared off the bar stool is hilarious! It was nice to see some of Booth’s family history. I feel really bad for the guy, but I totally understand where he’s coming from. Loved the toast at the end too. As always, great episode! | 41 |
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